Mary Shelley's novel was written a long time ago, yet it still inspires people around the world. The monster invented by the writer has become the protagonist of numerous horror films, cartoons and fanfiction, and it is this image that many choose to reincarnate as a monster on Halloween. This "nightmarish creature with yellow skin, tight muscles and veins", thankfully, is only fiction. But what could have happened if it were real? Two biologists from the United States decided to find out.
Fiction and mathematical modeling
In Mary Shelley's 1818 novel, a terrible creature demands that Victor Frankenstein make him a friend, claiming that it deserves to be happy. The monster promises that he and his companion will disappear into the wilds of South America and Victor will never see them again.
Frankenstein, however, destroyed his second terrible creation at the last moment, but what could have happened if he had indeed released two monsters into the South American forests? To answer this question, scientists created a mathematical model using population density data in 1816.
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Curious results
“We have calculated that the two monsters of Victor Frankenstein, if they were real, could wipe out humanity in 4,000 years,” says Nathaniel J. Dominy, professor of anthropology at Dartmund College.
Our extinction would have been triggered by powerful creatures competing with us for resources. Ultimately, this unequal confrontation would lead to the death of humanity. This concept is known as competitive exclusion, and this study is further proof of the genius of Mary Shelley, who, by combining scientific and philosophical ideas, invented an entirely new literary genre - science fiction.
And how good it is that this whole story is just fiction …
Irina Andreeva